Hostage
by Kylie Anderson
Summary: A hostage situation goes deadly wrong for one agent. But that's not the end of it. Danny Taylor's life is hanging in the balance.
1. Chapter 1

Hostage

Danny Taylor yawned as he walked past Martin Fitzgerald's desk. "Tired?" Martin asked grinning.

Sitting down, Danny smiled back. "I was filling out paperwork forever last night." Danny replied.

"Ah, but the day has just begun!" Martin exclaimed.

If only they knew how true that statement was. Vivian Johnson walked in shortly after Danny. "Hi," Vivian said smiling as she sat down at her desk.

"You catch that game last night?" Danny asked teasingly.

Vivian brushed her hair back. "What? You mean the Mets and Yankee game?" Vivian asked slightly surprised. "I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Danny gave her a large smile. "Did you see who won?" Danny persisted.

Vivian shook her head. "Not again! I'm telling you Danny, it's only a lucky streak that those Mets are on…" Vivian said as she started her computer.

Samantha Spade walked over to her desk silently and set her coat over her chair. "How are you Sam?" Martin called over.

Sam gave him a small smile. "Tired," Sam replied.

"Join the crowd," Danny muttered.

Elena Delgado looked over at Danny. "_Buenos días_," Elena said smiling as she handed Danny a file. "_Usted se olvidó de hacer este papeleo_."

Danny laughed. "_Supe había una razón para usted está en un humor tan bueno._" Danny replied.

Sam shook her head. "Okay…" Sam muttered.

Danny smiled at Sam. "Oh Elena here is just offering to do my paperwork." Danny said.

"Your Spanish is rusty…" Elena began.

Danny shook his head before handing her file. "You cared enough to bring it up." Danny said. "So now you can do it."

Elena shrugged before taking the file. "_Yo lo haré en una condición._" Elena said with a mischievous smile.

Danny looked at her oddly. "_¿Qué?_" Danny asked.

"_Usted me tiene que sacar a la cena._" Elena replied.

Danny smiled. "Deal," Danny said chuckling to himself.

Jack Malone walked into the middle of their conversation. "It's time to work people. Keep your personal lives out of the office." Jack snapped.

Sam, Vivian and Martin jumped at the sound of Jack's hard voice. Danny and Elena just looked down. "Sorry sir," Elena replied. "It won't happen again."

Jack sighed as he sat down at the large table. Everyone gathered around it. "We have an unusual case today." Jack said opening a file. "There's a hostage situation."

Sam looked perplexed. "Why are we getting involved in a hostage situation?" Sam asked.

Jack rubbed his forehead. "If you'd let me finish, I'd tell you." Jack muttered.

Vivian looked at Jack irritated. "Jack, will you just tell us what's going on?" Vivian asked.

Jack looked at each of them. "Ten minutes ago a man walked into a bookstore and pulled out a gun. He locked the place up and hostage negotiators have made contact with the man. He won't tell us his name. He only said that he wants to speak with Elena, Danny, Vivian, Martin and Jack of the FBI. He says if we don't get down there in twenty minutes, he will kill all of the hostages." Jack replied.

Martin looked pale. "W…why?" Martin asked. "And how does he know our names?"

Jack shook his head looking at his watch. "I don't know, but we have ten minutes to get down there." Jack answered.

As if on cue, everyone grabbed their coats and quickly left the room.

((-))

The command center had been set up in an empty room across from the bookstore. Jack quickly took control by calling the bookstore. The man answered immediately. "Are the people I asked for there?" A raspy voice asked.

"Yes." Jack answered. "You're speaking to Jack Malone."

Jack had the phone on speaker phone. "Put Danny Taylor on the phone," The voice requested.

Jack stepped aside and let Danny stand closer to the phone. "Hello?" Danny asked. "This is Danny Taylor speaking."

"Hello Danny, do you recognize my voice?" The voice asked calmly.

Danny only paused for a minute. "Rafael!" Danny exclaimed.

Martin could only stare at the pale Danny.

((-))

A/N- Please note I don't speak Spanish. English is my first and only language. I had to rely on the internet for these translations. I am very sorry if they are incorrect!

Buenos días- Good morning

Usted se olvidó de hacer este papeleo- You forgot to do this paperwork.

Supe había una razón para usted está en un humor tan bueno.- I knew there was a reason for you being in such a good mood.

Yo lo haré en una condición.- I'll do it on one condition.

¿Qué?- What?

Usted me tiene que sacar a la cena.- You have to take me out to dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The voice on the other end laughed. "I was hoping you would guess it was me." Rafael replied.

Danny just stood there in shock. "Rafael, this isn't some sort of joke! This is serious." Danny said firmly.

"You always didn't think I was too smart, did you? Of course I know this is serious!" Rafael yelled.

"Why are you doing this? What about your girlfriend? What about Nicky? And the boy your fiancée's about to have?" Danny asked almost pleadingly.

"Why?" Rafael laughed. "You're going to find out Danny…oh you are going to find out…"

Danny cast a nervous look at Jack. "I don't want to find out Rafi. I want you to tell me." Danny said as calmly as he could. "Look, I need to know how many people you have in there."

Rafael sighed. "Ah, if only life were that easy." Rafael answered.

"What do you want?" Danny asked rather hostile.

"Are you getting angry at me?" Rafael asked in fake anger.

Danny began to pace. "Of course I'm angry with you! You're throwing away everything you've built up. You worked hard to clean yourself up!" Danny shouted.

"Hey!" Rafael shouted. "Don't think for a minute you're any different than me! You can go around fooling your precious little boss, Jack. You can fool Vivian, Martin, Sam and even that nice looking Spanish girl, Elena, but you don't fool me! I know you!"

Danny hands shook his fury, but he knew he needed to keep his temper down. "Okay, you're right." Danny said giving in. "How many children?"

Rafael laughed again. "There's a little boy Danny. He's about five years old. He curled into a little ball like you would when papa would hit you." Rafael muttered. "He cries the same way you cried. Maybe I should put him out of his misery right now and put a bullet to his brain like I should have done to you."

Vivian and Sam gasped. "Oh my…" Sam began in a whisper.

Danny didn't react. He seemed to be simply trying to understand the situation. "Can you put him on the phone?" Danny asked shakily.

"For a price," Rafael replied.

Danny knew it would come to this. Rafael always wanted something. "What?" Danny asked.

"I want you to admit that you killed mama and papa." Rafael replied.

Danny was so taken back by the comment that he began physically ill. He ran to the nearest trash can. Rafael didn't want to wait any longer. Somehow, Danny managed to regain his composure. "If you want me to do that, I want the boy out of the building." Danny said.

Rafael smiled to himself. "Alright. I'll have the boy and his mother come out." Rafael said.

Danny couldn't believe his luck. "You let them go and as soon as I see they are alright, I will tell you what you need to know." Danny said. "I'll call back."

That was when Danny hung up the phone and looked outside the window. He didn't see any movement. "You did a good job." Jack said quietly. "But now we need to regroup and figure out what's going on. Vivian and Sam, we have some computers set up here. Try and figure out what might have triggered Rafael to do this. Martin and Elena, go over to Rafael's house and talk to his girlfriend and kid. See if they noticed anything different."

Danny simply stared out the window. Finally, he saw a young woman and a little boy as they were hauled away by a SWAT team. Danny took a deep breath before looking at Jack. "I guess this means I have to call back." Danny said picking up the phone with dread.

Jack looked at him kindly. "It's going to be fine Danny." Jack said gently.

((-))

Elena knocked on Alvarez's door. A pregnant woman answered with a smile. "Hi, what can I do for you?" Sylvia Marquez asked in a friendly manner.

Martin smiled back. "FBI, may we please come inside?" Martin asked.

Sylvia's smile faded. "What's this about?" Sylvia asked quietly.

"Rafael," Elena replied.

Sylvia was still standing in the doorway. "Rafael cleaned himself up. He's a good father to Nicky. He loves me and he wouldn't do anything to harm me. So whatever it is that you want, you can just leave," Sylvia said as she began to close the door. "Because Rafi didn't do it."

Martin held the door open. "Please, we know Danny and he didn't want to believe it either, but Rafael told us so." Martin said firmly.

Sylvia looked surprised and let them in. "What happened?" Sylvia asked glancing at the clock. "Nicky is in school. Did Rafi get arrested?"

Elena sighed. "No, but he is holding a bookstore of people hostage." Elena replied.

Sylvia's hand flew over her mouth. "Oh no! Rafi wouldn't…" Sylvia began.

"I'm afraid he is." Martin said quietly. "May we ask you a few questions?"

Sylvia gave a slight nod as she sat down slowly on the couch. "Have you noticed Rafael acting different lately?" Elena asked.

Sylvia shrugged. "Not really. He works hard and he's a good father." Sylvia said beginning to cry a bit. "Oh how could he do this? He was doing so well…"

Elena and Martin just exchanged sad glances.

((-))

Danny called the bookstore back and Rafael answered on the first ring. "Are you on speaker phone?" Rafael asked immediately.

"Yes," Danny replied.

"Good, I want your co-workers to hear the real Danny Alvarez." Rafael said calmly. "Now you need to start talking!"

Danny had tried to prepare himself for this, but somehow he couldn't. He had been eleven years old. It was so long ago, yet the memories were so fresh. "I was eleven. Papi was taking me out for ice cream with mama. Papa had been drinking. He was yelling at mama, Rafi. I yelled at him to stop yelling at her and he turned around and started yelling at me. We started swerving. I heard mama scream…papa still smelled like beer…there was glass and I was trapped…and there was a lot of blood. Most of it was mama's and papa's, but I was bleeding too. Eventually, they got me out and told me my mama and papa were dead. A nice lady asked me if I had any family…they called you." Danny said shivering.

"You killed them." Rafael accused coldly.

Danny sighed. "For the longest time, I thought that too, but I didn't kill them. Papi killed himself and mama when he decided to get behind the wheel of that car. I was just trying to help mama…" Danny began.

"Do you even remember her?" Rafael said cutting Danny off quickly.

"Only a little…I remembered she smelled like tacos because she was always cooking. She used to tuck me and you into bed. She would always promise us our own islands when we were rich. She said we'd never have to worry about anything." Danny said gently. "I remember how her hair was slightly wavy and how she had such a nice smile. Is that what you remember?"

"No Danny." Rafael replied. "I remember a woman who cried all the time because she was beaten. I remember a woman who was covered in bruises. Mama lived in fear. But what I remember most was walking into that morgue and having them pull back the cover. Her face was almost blue. It was all cut up and I knew they cleaned away the blood. I remember a woman asking if she was my mama and I remember saying yes. You…you…"

Danny didn't reply and for the longest time they sat in silence. Rafael was in his world and Danny was lost in memories. "Do you remember couch mountain?" Danny asked quietly with a smile.

Danny knew on the other end, Rafael must have smiled there too. "It was your favorite game." Rafael replied. "It's Nicky's too."

There was another silence. "Rafi…" Danny began quietly in almost a childish tone. "I…I need you like I needed you when I was a kid."

"I screwed up." Rafael said flatly.

Danny shook his head with tears in his eyes. "No, you didn't!" Danny said. "You taught me how to drive a car, how to ride a bike, how to play baseball! You were always there for me, but now I need to be here for you. All I'm asking is that you let a few innocent people go."

Rafael was now crying on the other end. "I have ten people in here." Rafael said. "Who should I send out?"

Danny felt a sigh of relief. "Is anyone sick?" Danny asked.

"No," Rafael replied. "Why don't I send out the jerk who won't shut up?"

Danny let out a small laugh. "Yeah, that'd be good." Danny said with a small smile.

"Before I go, do you remember the first car you drove?" Rafael asked quietly.

Danny nodded to himself. "Yes of course! It was a beautiful car…" Danny began.

"I know." Rafael said before hanging up.

Danny simply looked at Jack with tears in his eyes. "It wasn't my fault." Danny said before he began sobbing.

Jack held Danny tight. "It's alright. It's not your fault." Jack agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Five minutes later, a man was released. Rafael called back. Danny was waiting for the call. "Danny?" Rafael's quiet voice asked. "I want something."

Danny looked at Jack who encouraged him to find out what it was. "What?" Danny asked quietly.

"Can you get Sylvia and Nicky out here?" Rafael asked. "I don't need to see them; I just want to hear their voices…"

Jack shook his head. He pulled out a pad of paper and wrote something.

_Too risky! _

Danny nodded in agreement. "Rafael, I can't do that. Nicky's in school and I don't want to stress Sylvia out. She's already so worried about you." Danny replied.

"You talked to her?" Rafael asked surprised.

"Some of my co-workers are speaking with her right now," Danny answered.

"I just…I want to talk to them." Rafael said shakily.

Danny looked at Jack who just wrote him another note.

_Another hostage for Sylvia _

"You can talk to Sylvia if we see another hostage." Danny said firmly.

"What about Nicky?" Rafael asked.

"Do you really want him to see his papi like this?" Danny asked quietly.

"Get him Danny! Just get him or I'll kill this girl sitting next to me!" Rafael exploded.

Jack paused before slowly nodding. "Okay, we're getting Nicky and Sylvia right now, but we need to see two hostages now." Danny said quietly.

Rafael was silent for a minute. "Ten minutes or I will kill her!" Rafael shouted before hanging up.

Sam already was on the phone with Martin and Elena. Vivian walked over to Jack and Danny. "Rafael's been taking large chunks of money out of his account every day." Vivian said handing the report to Jack.

Danny looked at it. "A hundred dollars every day." Danny said softly. "Well, Rafael is using again."

Jack looked over at Danny. "Let's not jump to any conclusions…" Jack began.

"A hundred dollars gets him a nice bag of heron each day." Danny said.

Vivian shook her head. "What I don't get is how he got so much money," Vivian said.

Danny shook his head. "Rafael was always asking me for money and I never gave him any. He would have used it for drugs. After seeing that he did make an effort to stay drug free, I agreed that I would give him some money to help support Nicky and Sylvia." Danny said. "I should have known…"

At that moment, Sylvia, Nicky, Martin and Elena walked though the door. Nicky ran up to Danny. "Uncle Danny!" Nicky exclaimed. "Where's papi?"

Danny could feel everyone watching him. "Papi's in trouble." Danny said as gently as he could to the young boy.

Nicky smiled. "You're going to help papi, right? You always help him." Nicky said quietly.

"Well, I'm trying to help him, but he wants to talk to you." Danny said.

Sylvia looked at Danny sadly. "I don't want to do this." Sylvia said shortly in a hushed voice. "I'm sick of doing this! I really thought he had changed. After this, I'm taking Nicky and I'm leaving."

"Sylvia, that's a good idea, but don't mention it to him now. He's using again. We don't want him to kill anyone…" Danny warned.

Sylvia nodded. "Alright," Sylvia said taking a deep breath.

"Just talk to him," Danny said picking up the phone and putting it on speaker phone. "Ready?"

Sylvia nodded. Rafael picked up the phone. "Sylvia?" Rafael asked quickly.

"It's me." Sylvia said quietly. "Nicky's with me."

"Nicky? Are you there?" Rafael called out.

"I'm here papi…what's going on? Uncle Danny says you're trouble. Don't worry though! He says he going to help you." Nicky said innocently.

"Uncle Danny's smart." Rafael said shortly. "I love you, remember that."

Nicky nodded. "I'm glad I'm not in school. Mrs. Green was pretty boring." Nicky said.

Rafael didn't say anything. "Sylvia, I'm sorry." Rafael said.

"I know." Sylvia said shortly. "I know."

"What are we going to do?" Rafael asked.

"I don't know, but I really do want to see anyone hurt. Can you let someone go?" Sylvia asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm letting two people go now because the FBI let me talk to you." Rafael said.

Martin was looking outside and saw a man and a woman run out of the store. The SWAT team escorted them away. "Bye Sylvia, I love you." Rafael said before hanging up.

Sylvia was crying now. Nicky seemed confused. Danny simply watched them. "You were right Danny. Rafael is…he's so hopeless…" Sylvia said. "I used to believe that you could give people second chances…"

Danny nodded. "I know. Look, we'll get an agent to drive you home and Nicky back to school…" Danny began.

"Is it alright if I start packing? Nicky and I are going to be leaving tomorrow. I'll get a lawyer to draw up the divorce papers." Sylvia said shakily.

"Where will you go?" Danny asked.

Sylvia shrugged. "I don't know." Sylvia said. "Somewhere out of this city…"

"Why don't you come stay with me?" Danny offered.

Sylvia smiled. "Thank you," Sylvia said quietly before she and Nicky began to leave.

"Bye Uncle Danny!" Nicky said waving to Danny.

Danny waved back.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Rafael hadn't made contact in nearly twenty minutes. "It's making me nervous. Why hasn't he called?" Elena asked.

"Maybe he realizes it's hopeless," Martin suggested. "He could be thinking of surrendering."

"Or he could be freaking out because he knows there's no way out. He could kill all of those people and himself." Sam said.

"He could just be trying to figure out what to do." Vivian said.

Jack looked over at Danny who was looking at the bookstore. "Why did he do it?" Danny asked looking out the window. "I can't think of one reason why he would do something so drastic."

Jack sighed. "You know him best, how he is most likely to respond?" Jack asked.

Danny shrugged. "He's been using so he's probably unreasonable. I'm not sure what he will do." Danny said looking back at the team.

"Is suicide a possibility?" Sam asked quietly.

Danny nodded. "That's how I found him a while ago…he was going to kill himself." Danny said.

Everyone expect Elena knew what he was talking about. After the case they called Off the Tracks, Danny had become closer with Rafael. "Do you think he would kill someone else?" Vivian asked.

Danny shrugged. "I can't believe he's holding people hostage. Right now, I would say that it's possible he could kill someone." Danny answered.

At that time, the telephone rang. Danny quickly answered it. Rafael was speaking swiftly in Spanish. "_Si usted entra aquí, permitiré todo ellos van._" Rafael said.

Danny was silent for a minute. "_¿Todo ellos?_" Danny questioned back.

"_¡Sí! ¡Sí! ¡Si usted hace no, yo los mataré!_" Rafael shouted.

Danny sighed. "_Vengo_." Danny said as Rafael hung up the phone.

Elena stood firmly in Danny's way. "You're not going to do it!" Elena said firmly.

Everyone else was lost. None of them knew Spanish. "Elena, please move." Danny said pushing her aside gently.

Elena quickly moved back in front of him. "Rafael is going to let everyone go if Danny takes their place." Elena blurted out.

Jack now helped Elena block Danny's way. "You can't go Danny." Jack said firmly.

"You took Sam's place." Danny pointed out referring to a case they knew as 'Fallout'.

Sam now spoke up. "That was different. Jack didn't know the suspect." Sam said.

"It's a bad idea." Martin agreed.

"Just stay here Danny," Vivian said quietly.

Danny shook his head. "I'm going to handle this." Danny said starting to walk away.

"You're going to wear a wire then." Jack said giving in at last. "If something goes wrong, we're going in there."

Danny stopped and nodded. "Alright," Danny agreed at last.

((-))

Five minutes later, Danny stood in front of the bookstore. "Rafael, it's me. It's Danny. I'm unarmed and I want to come in." Danny shouted hoping Rafael would hear him.

After Danny had gotten done speaking, at least five people ran out of the building and into the arms of the SWAT team. Danny walked inside.

The bookstore was rather small, but it was filled with books from corner to corner. There was a counter and a telephone where Rafael was standing. He was holding the gun by his side. "I'm here." Danny said at last.

Rafael walked out from behind the counter to reveal that he was holding the hand of a young blonde haired girl. "I thought you said you'd release all the hostages." Danny said dryly.

He should have known that Rafael wouldn't keep his promise. "I guess I'm going to have to leave." Danny said as he began to walk backwards towards the door.

"If you leave, I'll put a bullet in your brain." Rafael said finally in a cold tone.

Danny stopped. The young girl was crying. "Please, you're scaring her." Danny said trying to talk some sense into his brother.

Rafael pushed the girl towards Danny. "Hi," Danny said kneeling down. "My name's Danny. What's your name?"

"Elizabeth," The small girl replied sniffling.

"How old are you?" Danny asked with a smile.

"Six and a half," Elizabeth declared.

Danny smiled. "Wow! That's really neat." Danny said looking up at his brother with pleading eyes.

Rafael sighed. "Take her and put her outside." Rafael said softly. "You better come back."

Danny picked up the young girl and walked to the doorframe. He stepped outside a bit and handed the girl to a SWAT member. Danny paused.

((-))

"Don't go back inside Danny," Jack muttered watching him from the window. "Don't do it,"

Sam, Vivian, Martin and Elena were all watching in fear. If Danny went back in…who knows what could happen!

((-))

Danny turned and walked back inside. "Why are you doing this Rafael?" Danny asked softly.

"I've been through a lot of crap Danny. Crap that you don't even know about. I just…I just can't take it anymore. I really liked you, but now, I hate you. So, I've come up with this perfect plan. I would run in somewhere with a gun and ask for your team to come. I would talk with you and get you in here. Then I'd kill you and then myself. It's perfect, isn't it?" Rafael said pointing the gun towards Danny.

"Killing me isn't going to do anything good. Killing yourself certainly isn't going to do anything good." Danny said firmly. "I'll tell you what'll happen. Jack will be really upset; Elena will get my desk, she always needed a better one; Martin will probably go back to doing drugs; Sam will be heartbroken and Vivian will be devastated. Sylvia will be crying because her baby boy won't know his father. Nicky will be asking, 'what really happened to papi?' Are you going to make her say, 'You're papi killed your uncle and then killed himself'? Your baby boy is going to grow up and Nicky will have to teach him how to drive a car, how to play baseball…all because his papi killed himself…"

Rafael shook his head. "This isn't going to work Danny. I've screwed up really badly." Rafael said before turning the gun on himself.

"Rafael…don't do it! I don't want to visit another grave…you're the only family I have left…don't do it!" Danny said repeatedly.

Rafael began crying as he sobbed down into the floor. Danny walked over to him and pulled the gun from his hand. "Okay, now we're going to walk out of here together. Nothing's going to happen to you, okay? Just keep your hands up and we're going to be fine…" Danny said as he and Rafael began to walk towards the door.

((-))

"It sounds like they're coming out." Vivian said as she began to walk outside.

Sam, Elena, Martin and Jack followed her out onto the blocked off street. Danny pushed Rafael out into the light where he walked with his hands up. Danny held the gun, but then something went horribly wrong. It wasn't something foreseeable, it just happened.

A/N- The translations:

Si usted entra aquí, permitiré todo ellos van. -If you come in here, I will let all of them go.

¿Todo ellos? -All of them?

¡Sí! ¡Sí! ¡Si usted hace no, yo los mataré! -Yes! Yes! If you don't, I'm going to kill them!

Vengo -I'm coming


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Rafael pushed Danny away from him. A black van crashed through the barriers that the NYPD had set up. The black van skidded to a halt in front of Rafael and Danny. Rafael pushed Danny into the black van. FBI agents started firing at the van. NYPD officers and SWAT members joined in the hail storm of bullets. The van just kept going out of the barriers.

Rafael was just simply laughing in the middle of the sidewalk as most of the law enforcement agents stood there in shock. Jack advanced towards him with his gun drawn. "Put your hands up!" Jack shouted.

Rafael put his hands up and Jack arrested him.

((-))

Vivian, Sam, Elena and Martin waited at the large conference table as Jack stormed in and sat down. "Did anyone get the license plate number?" Jack asked furiously.

"No. There weren't any license plates." Martin said calmly.

"Since it was a hostage situation, there were a lot of reporters. We've got access to all of their tapes. A lab tech is reviewing them now." Sam said.

"Did anyone get the make and model?" Jack asked annoyed.

Martin nodded. "I did." Martin said.

"Start looking," Jack muttered. "Elena, Sam, start going through phone records, asking around, whatever you need to do to figure out who Rafael may have asked to help kidnap Danny. Vivian, you and I are interviewing Rafael."

((-))

Rafael sat like a scared rat. He knew how brutal Jack Malone could be…he heard stuff in prison… Jack stormed in with Vivian behind him. "Why?" Jack asked as he slammed down his fist on the table. "Why did you kidnap your brother?"

Rafael didn't reply. "Give me an answer!" Jack shouted.

Vivian laid a hand on Jack's arm warning him not to lose his temper. "Rafael, just tell us where he is." Vivian said gently. "You don't really want to hurt your brother, do you?"

Rafael still didn't say anything. He licked his lips. "You know, I think I'll answer that one. I really do want to hurt my brother. By the time for find Danny **_Taylor_**, he'll be floating in the Hudson river." Rafael said. "He is already dead to me. I mean…Danny Taylor? What kind of name is that? Daniel Alvarez was his birth name, but he…he wanted to disrespect our family…"

Rafael became suddenly silent. "Just tell us who kidnapped or where he is or something," Vivian pleaded. "We care about him."

"Yeah, there was a time I said that too." Rafael said.

It was silent again. "Rafael, please, just tell us where he is." Jack said quietly.

Rafael shook his head. "I can't do that." Rafael said.

Jack suddenly stood up. "Enjoy hell," Jack hissed before rushing out of the room.

Vivian got up slowly. "You know, I just don't understand how you could be so cruel as to take your little brother's life." Vivian said as she slowly walked out of the room.

Rafael just sat there with his head in his hands crying.

((-))

Martin sighed. "Jack there are over a hundred vans just like the one that we saw today. It's a dead end." Martin said from his computer.

Vivian looked up. "What about the wire? Danny was wearing it…" Vivian began.

"It's no longer on." Jack said swiftly.

Sam and Elena walked up. "We went through all the files. Most of Rafael's associates are in prison. Some are on probation, but Rafael hasn't had contact with them in ages." Sam said firmly. "Did you get anything out of him?"

Jack shook his head. "He won't say anything." Jack said.

"Do you want me to try?" Elena asked tilting her head.

"What difference would it make?" Martin snapped.

Elena smiled. "I think we have a mutual understanding." Elena said.

Vivian gave her an odd look before nodding. "I think it's a good idea." Vivian said at last.

Jack sighed. "Alright," Jack said.

((-))

Elena walked into the interrogation room where Rafael was sitting. She sat across from him. "_Oigo que usted es de Cuba._" Elena said casually.

Rafael didn't respond. "_Soy de Guatemala._" Elena continued.

"_Muy bien_." Rafael said.

"_Es duro que usted sabe. Crecer en un tercer país de la clase…_" Elena said sighing. "_Mi papi utilizó para gritar en mí todo el tiempo. Yo lo odié, pero…yo no tuve nadie más. Mi madre murió me dando a luz._"

"_Qué un cuento triste_," Rafael said sarcastically.

"_Es_." Elena said looking at him oddly. "_¿Así que qué es su cuento? ¿Creció en Cuba, vino a América para encontrar que usted vive todavía en el infierno?_"

Rafael suddenly stood up. As he did so Elena stood up as well. "_¡Siéntese!_" Elena shouted pointing her finger towards the chair. "_¡Usted necesita empezar a decirme lo que pasa!_"

"_¡Usted acaba de permanecer fuera de esto!_" Rafael shouted back.

"_¡Puedo no! ¡Danny es un amigo bueno mío!_" Elena said looking slightly upset. "_Y sé que usted no significó para lo ir a tal punto._"

Rafael sank to the floor crying. "I was high. I didn't mean to do any of it." Rafael said in English.

Elena kneeled next to him. "I know. I know Rafi. Please just tell me who and we will find your brother." Elena said gently.

"They will have killed him by now…Even if they didn't, Danny will never forgive me…" Rafael said.

Elena let out a small laugh. "Danny will be mad, yes, but he…he is a very kind person. I'm sure he'll forgive you in time." Elena said.

Rafael looked at her. "Hausa Rodriguez and some other people…" Rafael said.

Elena stood up. "_Gracias_," Elena said before walking out of the room.

Sam, Martin, Jack and Vivian all walked up to her. "What did you say to him?" Martin marveled.

Elena gave them a mysterious smile. "Some of us just aren't as lucky as you Americans…" Elena said before walking past them.

A/N- Translations:

Oigo que usted es de Cuba. -I hear you're from Cuba.

Soy de Guatemala - I'm from Guatemala.

Muy bien - Good for you.

Es duro que usted sabe. Crecer en un tercer país de la clase…Mi papi utilizó para gritar en mí todo el tiempo. Yo lo odié, pero…yo no tuve nadie más. Mi madre murió me dando a luz. - It's tough you know. Growing up in a third class country…My papi used to yell at me all the time. I hated it, but…I didn't have anyone else. My mother died giving birth to me.

Qué un cuento triste- What a sad story

Es. ¿Así que qué es su cuento? ¿Creció en Cuba, vino a América para encontrar que usted vive todavía en el infierno? - It is. So what's your story? Grew up in Cuba, came to America to find you still live in hell?

¡Siéntese! ¡Usted necesita empezar a decirme lo que pasa! - Sit down! You need to start telling me what's going on!

¡Usted acaba de permanecer fuera de esto! - You just stay out of this!

¡Puedo no! ¡Danny es un amigo bueno mío! Y sé que usted no significó para lo ir a tal punto. - I can't! Danny is a good friend of mine! And I know you didn't mean for it to go this far.

Gracias-Thank you


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The first thing Danny realized when he woke up was that it was dark and cold. He groaned and rolled over onto his back. Why were his hands bound? And his legs? That's when he remembered. Rafael…his brother…helped kidnap him.

Was there any kind of betrayal worse than this?

((-))

It had only taken Jack a matter of minutes to assemble a SWAT team to knock down Hausa Rodriguez's door. Jack was the first to enter the house after the SWAT team. Martin, Sam, Vivian and Elena followed with their guns drawn.

The house was old and badly kept. Newspapers were thrown and garbage littered the floor. Jack walked into the living room to see a Hispanic man sitting on the couch with a beer in hand. "Put your hands up!" Jack shouted loudly.

Martin, Sam, Vivian and Elena heard Jack and rushed to his hand. "_Ningún ingles!_" Hausa Rodriguez said shakily.

Elena shook her head. "Oh don't give me that crap! You have lived in America for ten years. You can speak English." Elena said firmly in English.

"_Ningún ingles!_" Hausa Rodriguez repeated.

Elena sighed. "_Multa. ¿Es esto mejor? ¿Dónde está Danny?_" Elena said.

Hausa Rodriguez shook his head. "I don't know! I really don't know!" Hausa said.

"So you can speak English…" Elena muttered.

"Rafael just said he had a job for me. I kidnapped Danny, but the jerk was too much trouble. He kept kicking and punching. I was supposed to kill him, but I just gave him to Pedro because I didn't want to have to deal with him anymore." Hausa said quickly.

Jack looked disgusted. "Cuff him," Jack ordered not taking his eyes off Hausa.

((-))

Vivian handed Jack a file. "Pedro Sanchez," Vivian said sighing. "He was in a jail for attempted murder, assault, rape, robbery, just about everything."

"Rafael hires two convicted felons to kidnap and kill his brother…how high was he?" Martin muttered from his desk.

Jack seemed to be rather upset as well. "Do we have a location on Pedro Sanchez?" Jack asked.

Sam sighed. "That's the problem. He skipped out on a few of his probation meetings and no one knows where he is." Sam said. "NYPD is keeping an eye out for him. They're also looking in his apartment now to see if he decided to drop in."

"W…what's the likelihood that Danny is…is still alive?" Elena asked suddenly.

Everyone seemed to be wondering the same thing. "Probably not good," Martin admitted.

Sam looked horrified. "How could you say that?" Sam asked in a hurt voice.

Martin sighed. "Well, just think about it. This Pedro guy doesn't have any use for Danny and he already got paid…it just seems…" Martin said faltering.

There was an odd silence. Jack's cell phone rang. "Malone," Jack said.

His face turned oddly white. "A…are you sure?" Jack said shakily. "Alright…I'll…I'll tell them."

Jack hung up his cell phone. "What?" Elena asked.

Jack took a deep breath. "They…they found a body. It was in the Hudson river…" Jack began. "A Hispanic male, twenties, he's only be in the water for a few hours…"

"But it might not be Danny?" Sam prompted.

Jack shook his head. "They…they…they found his badge…in his…pocket." Jack said before swiftly leaving the room.

Sam became pale. Elena ran to the bathroom. Martin simply sank down in his chair. Vivian began to softly cry.

There wasn't…any way…Danny just couldn't be dead…

((-))

The next day, Vivian entered with dark circles under her eyes. She didn't sleep at all last night. She just sat in her kitchen thinking about all the times Danny talked to her. He was a nice kid…he made something of himself. He shouldn't be dead.

Sam had red eyes. It was obvious she was crying all last night. In the end, she cried herself to sleep. Elena quickly walked over to her desk without saying a word. She appeared to have grief beyond tears. Martin couldn't stop thinking about all the times Danny had helped him. When Jack walked in, he too seemed restless. "Danny doesn't have any family." Jack said at last. "Someone needs to do the funeral arrangements."

No one said anything to this. "How did he die?" Sam asked quietly.

"The ME thinks he drowned." Jack said heavily. "Apparently he was bound and conscious when they dumped him in the river."

"So he knew that he was dying?" Elena asked softly.

Jack gave her a slight nod. "It looks that way." Jack replied.

There was an odd silence before Jack's cell phone rang. "Malone…are you sure? Do you have any idea...? Don't tell me to calm down! You've made a huge mistake! Yes…Of course! Thank you." Jack muttered before looking at the team with a smile.

"What?" Martin asked curiously.

Jack grinned. "The body that they found wasn't Danny's." Jack said swiftly. "The man that they found was Pedro Sanchez. I think that someone else was involved. They must have killed Pedro and put Danny's badge in Pedro's pocket to throw us off track."

Everyone was in shock. Sam actually began to laugh. "He's not dead!" Sam said excitedly to Vivian.

Vivian nodded and smiled back. "I know." Vivian said with a small laugh.

"Wait, why would someone want to make us think Danny's dead?" Martin asked thinking quickly.

Elena sighed. "That's a good point." Elena said shortly. "Maybe the person wanted to buy time."

"Why would they want to buy time though?" Martin asked.

Elena put her hand on her forehead thinking. "Well, if I committed a crime, I wouldn't stick around in America where I could be prosecuted. It would be much easier for me to go back to Guatemala. Sure, you could extradite me, but it's very hard and such a long process and the locals don't always help…" Elena said. "Especially if you live in a third world country."

"Which brings up the next question, why are they running? Someone wouldn't run to a third world country from a kidnapping rap, they would run away from a murder rap." Martin said logically.

"Which means that Danny could be dead," Elena realized.

Jack shook his head. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to find out who took Danny and where they might go." Jack said quickly.

In an instant, everyone was hard at work.

A/N- Translations:

Ningún inglés -No English

Multa. ¿Es esto mejor? ¿Dónde está Danny?- Fine. Is this better? Where is Danny?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

After hours of talking to various people, looking up names and tracking down bad leads, the team finally had a name. It wasn't much to go on, but at least they had a start. Jose Diaz was a man that Danny had put away years ago for the kidnapping of a young woman named Cindy or something like that. It was an open and shut case.

However, Diaz must have still held a grudge. Once he heard that Rafael had told Hausa to kill his brother, he got Pedro, a friend of his, to help Hausa. Hausa backed out and then all Jose had to do was kill Pedro. It was a simple, yet elegant plan.

Jose was born in Mexico and lived there for most of his life, so they decided to start there. Elena was speaking with the Mexico authorities. "Yes! I am aware of the international law…" Elena began furiously. "No, I'm not a Mexican…Mr. Taylor isn't either…that doesn't change anything! Jose Diaz is a Mexican…of course the law still applies…Look, all I need you to do is to check to see if Diaz is in a home that he owns there…"

Sam, Martin, Jack and Vivian were now all watching Elena intensely. She suddenly stood up and starting yelling in Spanish. Martin didn't know any Spanish at all, but he could tell whatever Elena was saying, it wasn't nice. "This is a federal case! I'm not saying we're going to take over Mexico. All I want you to do is check to see if this man is in his house! Are all Mexicans such idiots?" Elena shouted. "I already told you, I'm not Mexican…"

Elena sighed. "Thank you," Elena said hanging up the phone.

Vivian cleared her throat. "So how did it go?" Vivian asked.

"Mexicans…" Elena muttered with a smile. "They agreed to check out Diaz's house."

"What made them agree?" Jack asked slightly amused.

Elena shrugged. "I'm not sure. It may have been my threats or just the fact that I'm very persuasive." Elena said.

"Are they going to call back?" Sam asked.

At that very moment, Elena's phone rang. She quickly picked it up. "Okay, just leave him there. Make sure he doesn't leave the country. The FBI is going to be coming…yes, I'll be there…no, I'm not going out with you!" Elena said putting her head in her hands. "Thank you."

Martin let out a shallow laugh. "I guess that's one way to get a date." Martin joked.

Elena gave him a deep stare. "The Mexican authorities said that Diaz is in his house and it looks like he has someone else in there." Elena said looking at Jack.

Jack nodded. "I guess we're going to Mexico." Jack said quickly. "Everyone grab your bags. I'm going to make sure we get there ASAP."

((-))

Hours later, Jack, Sam, Martin, Elena and Vivian were walking up to Mexico City's police station. Elena smiled at the secretary sitting behind the desk and was about to speak to her in Spanish, when she nodded. "You must be the Americans?" The woman asked in a heavy accent.

Elena nodded. "_Si, FBI_." Elena said with a smile.

The woman looked unimpressed. "I speak English." The woman said firmly.

"Can you direct us to whom we need to see?" Jack asked swiftly.

The woman nodded. "Go down that hall…" The woman began before looking frustrated.

She held up three fingers. "That number door," The woman muttered. "English too confusing…"

Martin shook his head as they made their way down the hallway. "English is probably the easiest languages." Martin said.

Elena snorted. "Yeah right! You try having another first language and then trying to learn English. You have all these compound words and prepositions…it's so confusing. At least Spanish flows…" Elena said.

Sam knocked on the old wooden door. "Come in," A man's voice said in English.

Vivian entered first. "Hello, we're with the FBI…" Vivian began.

The Hispanic man waved her off. "Yes, yes! I know." The man said irritated. "My name is Santiago Andres. I am the man Ms. Sanchez spoke to on the telephone."

"You have surveillance on the house?" Jack asked swiftly.

Santiago pulled at his thick mustache. He muttered something in Spanish as he looked at Elena. Elena looked angry. She pointed to Jack as she spoke swiftly in Spanish. "You won't have to worry about him when I'm done with you!" Elena said angrily in Spanish.

"I'm sorry." Santiago said at last in English. "We don't have enough…um…manpower? Is that what it is? We don't have enough manpower to look at the house all day."

Jack sighed angrily. "Come on, we're going." Jack said firmly as he left the room.

Sam tried to keep up with him. "Where are we going?" Sam asked.

"Diaz's house," Jack replied.

((-))

Upon entering the house, they found it was empty. There wasn't any furniture or anything. It was just bare. Sam was walking into what appeared to be a kitchen and found there was a piece of paper taped to the wall. It simply read:

_Too late _

"You guys!" Sam shouted from the kitchen.

A/N- Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been super busy!

Translations:

Si, FBI- Yes, FBI


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jack quickly entered the kitchen and read the note. Within minutes, the team was able to find that Jose Diaz had taken a flight to Cuba only hours ago. Vivian sighed. "Airport officials say that Diaz was carrying a large duffel bag." Vivian said.

Martin swallowed. "Big enough for a body?" Martin asked quietly.

Vivian nodded. "That's exactly what the man told me," Vivian confirmed.

Jack sighed. "Okay, we need to get to Cuba. Elena…" Jack began.

"I'll call ahead and make sure Diaz is secure…" Elena said pulling out her cell phone as she finished Jack's sentence.

"Viv, Sam, I want you guys to go back to the States and hold down the fort there…" Jack began.

Sam immediately protested. "Why? We can help more if were here…" Sam cut in.

Jack shook his head. "We really need to get information from back home. We need someone there to deal with Van Doren." Jack said almost pleadingly.

Sam looked furious. "Why Vivian and I?" Sam demanded to know.

"Elena speaks Spanish. I'm the supervisory agent. Martin will better muscle." Jack explained calmly.

Vivian put her hand on Sam's shoulder. "It's alright dear. We'll be of better use at the office." Vivian said gently guiding Sam out of the empty house.

Jack sighed. There was another reason he didn't want Sam there. If Danny was dead, Jack didn't want Sam to kill Diaz…he wanted to do it himself.

((-))

It took only another few hours for Jack, Elena and Martin to get to Cuba. Airport officials had not been able to catch Diaz, but the local law enforcement had. He was currently sitting in a cold, dark room. Cuba apparently spent as much money on interrogation rooms as the United States. All they were ever meant to do was scare the heck out of you.

Jack, Elena and Martin swiftly walked into the room. "Where's Danny?" Jack asked briskly before he even sat down.

Jose Diaz pretended not to hear them. "_¿Qué?_" Jose asked innocently.

Elena stood up. "You can speak English!" Elena accused. "It drives me insane when people can speak the language you are speaking in and refuse to do it!"

Jose put up his hands. "Sorry sweetie, did I upset you?" Jose asked in a thick accent.

At that moment, Elena wanted to do nothing more than strangle the man in front of her. Martin and Jack were feeling the same. "Where's Danny?" Martin said firmly.

Elena looked at the duffle bag on the floor. "It's empty." Elena commented.

Jack looked over at it as well. This made him highly uneasy. It was fully of something when Diaz arrived at the airport. Diaz laughed. "He's dead." Diaz replied. "I at least had the decency of letting him die where he was born."

Martin stopped to think of what Diaz was saying. Danny was an American. That's when Martin remembered Danny telling him he was born in Cuba. "Where is he?" Martin repeated.

Diaz shrugged. "I already told you. I killed him." Diaz said with a smile.

"Unluckily for you, you killed a man who came from this country. That means that the Cubans can sentence you as they see fit." Jack said coldly. "Now, that could mean a slow, painful death. They don't even need to prove anything."

Diaz leaned forward. "At least it was worth it to see him die…struggling for his last breath. He kept crying 'please don't hurt them…'. He wanted me to tell you he was sorry he couldn't do anything better; Martin, he wanted to tell you that he hopes you're doing well; Elena, he wanted me to tell you he thinks you're a wonderful friend…" Diaz began.

"Shut up!" A guard said immediately in English jumping up and hitting Diaz over the head. "Shut up you stupid animal! No one kills a Cuban on my watch without paying the price!"

Diaz cried out in pain. "Stop!" Diaz yelped. "Stop!"

The guard didn't stop and Jack had no intention of telling him to.

A/N: Translations-

¿Qué?- What?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Where's Danny?" Jack pressed.

A bloodied Diaz moaned. "I dumped him in a river with his hands and feet bound. I taped his mouth. He sunk…I never saw him again…" Diaz confessed.

"Well luckily for you, Danny Taylor can swim." A voice said at the door.

Elena, Martin and Jack turned to see Danny standing in the doorway soaked. He was bloodied and shaking, but he had a smile on his face. "Danny!" Jack exclaimed.

"I never thought I'd come back to Cuba, much less in a duffle bag…" Danny muttered.

Martin got up and gave Danny his jacket. "We're gonna get you to a hospital, okay?" Martin asked gently.

"How in the hell did you get out of the ropes? I saw you! You sunk down and were down there forever!" Diaz shouted in anger.

Danny smiled. "I can hold my breath for a long amount of time. I was also very good at playing cowboys. You know the game where they tie you up and you have to get out of the 'handcuffs'?" Danny said.

Diaz looked angry. "What are we going to do with him?" Martin asked looking over at Diaz.

Jack looked at Danny. "It's your call. Do you want him extradited to the US or stay here in Cuba?" Jack asked.

Danny stared at the angry man in front of him. "I'd really like to see you suffer." Danny said honestly. "However, you'll get your death soon enough in America."

Diaz let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank you! Thank you!" Diaz said letting go of his anger.

"Shut up!" Elena shouted.

Elena, Martin and Jack walked out of the room with Danny by their side. "We're taking you to a hospital, okay?" Jack said gently.

Danny shook his head. "Not here in Cuba." Danny said quietly.

"Why not?" Martin questioned.

"I'd rather get treated in America." Danny replied. "Just get me some dry clothes and I'll be fine."

Elena nodded. "We're going to get you out of here as soon as possible." Elena said as they walked out into the sunlight.

There was a silence. "How did you find us?" Jack asked at last while they were walking down a dirt road.

"Cuba doesn't change much for me…" Danny answered.

((-))

Vivian was hesitant to answer her cell phone. She didn't want to hear that they found Danny dead. However, she answered it. Her face broke into a grin when she heard the news. For once, she was glad she answered her cell phone.

Sam noticed that once Vivian hung up her cell phone, she let out a breath of relief. "What happened?" Sam asked curiously.

"They found Danny. He's fine." Vivian replied.

Sam smiled.

((-))

As they were making their way to the small airport, a Hispanic man stopped them. "_¡Danny, es bueno verle!_" The man exclaimed.

Danny seemed to jump in surprise. "_Yo no le sé._" Danny replied.

"_¡Seguro usted hace! Soy usted es amigo viejo, Adán. Es sido tan largo…_" Adam said with a smile.

Danny sighed. "_Soy una persona diferente ahora._" Danny said quietly.

Adam gave him a slight nod. "_¿Por qué es mojado usted?_" Adam asked curiously.

Danny gave him a small smile. "_Cuento largo,_" Danny said.

Adam looked at Jack, Elena and Martin. "_Adivino que usted obtiene mejor yendo. La buena suerte con su nueva vida._" Adam said nodding.

Danny gave him a gentle smile. "_Era bueno verle otra vez. Espero que usted estará bien. Yo probablemente no le veré otra vez._" Danny said shortly.

Adam nodded in understanding. "_Adiós,_" Adam said curtly before walking away.

Jack looked at Danny oddly. "What was that about?" Jack asked.

Danny looked at Elena for once realizing she understood everything that he had said. Suddenly, he felt trapped between his old life that he tried so hard to escape and his new one. "Some guy wanted to know directions," Elena said smoothly.

"Why did he call you Danny though?" Martin asked curiously.

Elena smiled. "Don't you know that Danny is sort of like slang in Spanish. I'm not sure how you'd translate it, but it's like a greeting." Elena lied.

Danny felt relieved that Elena was not going to rat him out. He was positive that Jack and Martin didn't buy their story, but they weren't asking any questions.

((-))

After Danny changed into some of Martin's clothes, they were on the plane back to America. Diaz would be shipped over to America after the paperwork was filled out. Danny never realized how much he loved American soil until the plane landed at the JFK airport.

A/N- Translations:

¡Danny, es bueno verle! -Danny, it's good to see you!

Yo no le sé- I don't know you.

¡Seguro usted hace! Soy usted es amigo viejo, Adán. Es sido tan largo…- Sure you do! I'm you're old friend, Adam. It's been so long…

Soy una persona diferente ahora. - I'm a different person now.

¿Por qué es mojado usted? - Why are you wet?

Cuento largo-Long story

Adivino que usted obtiene mejor yendo. La buena suerte con su nueva vida. -I guess you better get going. Good luck with your new life.

Era bueno verle otra vez. Espero que usted estará bien. Yo probablemente no le veré otra vez.- It was good to see you again. I hope you will be okay. I'm probably not going to see you again.

Adiós- Goodbye


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Once in America, Danny was rushed to a local hospital in New York City. Sam, Vivian, Martin, Elena and Jack all waited nervously. Twenty minutes later, Danny walked out with a small bandage on his forehead. Jack jumped to his feet. "How are you?" Jack asked quickly.

Danny let out a small laugh. "I'm fine. I had a small scratch on my forehead and I was a bit cold from being underwater for so long, but I'm able to leave now." Danny said.

Vivian sighed with relief. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" Vivian muttered.

Danny's smile disappeared. "Rafael, where is he?" Danny asked suddenly.

It was automatically silent. "Riker's," Martin replied. "He pled out."

"Has anyone heard from Sylvia or Nicky?" Danny asked.

Sam shook her head. "After she heard that Rafael kidnapped you, she fled with Nicky. By now, they've probably changed their names and are living far away." Sam said.

Danny shook his head. "What a mess this is," Danny said. "Did Rafael say why he did it?"

Elena sighed. "He said he was high." Elena answered.

Danny put on his coat. "Well, I really do hope he doesn't ask me to speak on his behalf during his appeal." Danny said with a small smile as he began to walk out of the hospital.

((-))

Jack insisted that he drive Danny to his apartment as opposed to having Danny take the subway. Danny thanked Jack and hurried to his apartment. Once he was inside, he fell to the bed and began to cry himself to sleep.

((-))

The team told Danny to take the next day off, but Danny came in anyway. As soon as he walked in, Van Doren was breathing down his neck. "Agent Taylor," She said in a crisp manner as Danny approached his desk.

Danny looked up. "Ms. Van Doren," Danny said in surprise.

"You are taking the next week off." Van Doren said firmly.

Danny gave her a small smile. "Ms. Van Doren is that necessary? I really am fine…" Danny began.

"Physically, yes, but mentally… Danny, you're brother plotted this whole thing just to kidnap you. You obviously must feel betrayed and angry at your brother." Van Doren said.

"I do feel betrayed and angry at my brother, but I am going to see the in-house therapist. I also plan on being on desk duty for at least a month." Danny said calmly.

Van Doren looked uncomfortable. Everyone was now watching them. "That's not what I mean…" Van Doren began.

Danny gave her a gentle smile. "Are you concerned about my alcoholism? Don't worry; I'm now attending AA meetings every night just in case." Danny said gently.

Van Doren gave him a small laugh. "You're a very responsible adult Danny. You've covered all the bases, but still, I want you to at least stay home for a week to gather your thoughts." Van Doren said.

"Danny isn't going anywhere." Jack said walking out from his office towards Danny's desk.

Danny shook his head. "No Jack, it's alright. I have no problem staying home watching movies." Danny said with a smile. "Good day Ms. Van Doren."

Jack was surprised at how easily Danny gave up. Maybe it was best if he stayed home for a while…

((-))

Once Danny got home, he closed his door. He felt so tired. Everything was just too much to handle. How could all this happen to him? Nothing seemed right. Danny looked at his watch. It was only ten in the morning.

He had to do something. He couldn't just sit in his apartment. He picked up his coat and left the apartment as quick as he had entered it.

((-))

Danny sat down in front of his brother. "Why?" Danny asked shortly.

Rafael sighed. "I was high Danny. I was angry…I was messed up…" Rafael said stuttering. "You know I wouldn't have done this unless I was high, right?"

Danny didn't reply. "You could have killed someone." Danny said. "A little kid, a mother, an uncle or even me! What were you thinking?"

Rafael looked down. "I wasn't thinking. Now I'm spending twenty five to life in here because I screwed up…" Rafael said. "Danny, I'm proud of you."

Danny looked surprised. "Why?" Danny asked curiously.

"The only reason why I'm here and you're not is because you cared. You realized that you needed to change your life and you did it. It must not have been easy, but you saved yourself. I'm paying dearly for my mistakes. I'll never see my son again or my future wife and our unborn baby. I'll never be able to walk outside a place where they beat you every day. I'll never be able to see my little brother save the world…Danny, I'm sorry." Rafael said sincerely.

Danny looked at Rafael with tears in his eyes. "I can't forgive you…" Danny said slowly.

"I don't expect you to." Rafael said firmly.

In a moment, Danny and Rafael were hugging each other. They were crying softly. "I'm really sorry." Rafael choked.

((-))

Jack and Sam were going to talk to Rafael one last time just so they could wrap up their case when they found Danny hugging him. They broke apart. "I'm going to walk out that door and I'm not looking back." Danny warned him.

Rafael smiled. "I don't want you to ever look back at this. Just forget about everything Danny. Forget about papi's abuse, forget about mama's tears, forget about my mistakes…Find a girl you like, get married, be there for her, have a child that will say proudly 'he's my papi'…Go on with your life." Rafael said gently.

Danny got up slowly. "Goodbye Danny…Taylor…" Rafael said as Danny was leaving.

Having Rafael say his 'new' last name was like having Rafael accept that Danny was moving on. When Danny walked out of the visiting room, he saw Jack and Sam were watching him. They were obviously embarrassed to be caught listening to Danny's private conversation, but Danny simply nodded towards them. "Hi," Danny said as he brushed past them.

((-))

A week later, Danny found himself at his desk staring at the photo of his family. "They're all gone." Danny muttered. "I'm the only one left…"

Perhaps he was more of a hostage of his _past_ than of his present, but he was breaking free slowly one day and one memory at a time.

**The End**

Disclaimer: I do not own Without a Trace.

A/N- I hope you liked this story! If you did, check out my other stories.

Kylie Anderson


End file.
